Author: fwadmin_chron

In today’s Sunday Gleaner column, you may recognize a familiar theme if you are a regular reader – that it doesn’t make sense to expect a behaviour change without detailing the new steps required. The only difference is that this time around we’re looking at a different kind of end-result… an emotional state.

In the article I share a simple practice I have used for over a decade. As time has progressed, the effects have accumulated – a fact I didn’t mention in the article. But I think it makes sense that if you pick a single useful habit and repeat it often enough with an intention to make improvements, the benefits will increase over time.

This is exactly what’s happened in my case which is why the research I quote caught my attention… what if a simple emotion we all want, like happiness, was available to us in greater, steadier quanta? What if we could develop the discipline to be more happy? For example, meditation has been shown by researchers to produce repeatable benefits, yet the number of who have actually tried it in the Caribbean remains small.

Would corporations, or more specifically, your boss, be interested in learning how to teach the practices required to produce happiness? I suppose the answer varies from one organization to any other, but we do share a common humanity in which we desire many of the same things.

I’d love to hear what you think of the article either on my Facebook page or on Twitter (@fwconsulting99) or even my email – http://ReplytoFrancis.info. Here it is below in full, or on the Gleaner website.

How Managers Can Make Employees Happy

It’s easy in these times of economic difficulty to focus on the bad news. The fact is, just the exercise of watching prices rise and exchange rates falter gives each of us evidence that being unhappy is no longer a choice, but a consequence.

In corporate Jamaica, executives who trust in the link between employee productivity and happiness scratch their heads wondering what to do. They conclude that employees who can influence their state of mind can also be more productive. They know that giving away more money doesn’t work for more than a short time, that engagement is not something that can be bought or sold at a price. It must come from inside.

However, they typically have a difficult time translating this knowledge into concrete action. For example, employee appraisals often devolve into little more than cliches. This confuses the recipient, who based on the feedback, has no idea what to do differently.

An example borrowed from a recent study highlights the need for managers to do their own research. Happiness, it appears, is not a random mood that descends out of nowhere. Instead, it’s strongly correlated to particular habits.

First, let’s consider the opposite. I have a friend who has a habit of recreating past disappointments with remarkable ease. She not only remembers the details, but evokes all the emotions that were present in that moment, no matter how long ago. She is well-practiced.

Contrast her routine with one described by University of Pennsylvania professor Martin Seligman. “Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. Next to each positive event, answer the question ‘Why did this happen?'”

I can speak to the power of such a practice. For the past 13 years or so, I have recorded a list of things I am grateful for, before sending it via email to another person. Today, it’s an activity scheduled in my calendar each week that I hope to become as routine as brushing my teeth.

The effect, which Seligman details, is remarkable. After I hit “Send” I feel immediately different. The fact that someone close to me is reading the list makes a big difference because it’s a peek into some of my innermost thoughts. It acts as a powerful reminder of what’s important.

As you may imagine, these two contrasting sets of habits produce opposite results. Is it conceivable that this simple technique could be taught in corporations? In the right context, “Yes.” Employee resilience is an attribute companies say they care about a great deal, but do little to help employees develop. The few who attempt to hire “Rah-Rah” motivational speakers discover that this effect doesn’t last long. What endures for much longer are new repetitive behaviours like the ones Seligman uncovered.

The best news of all is that the technique of translating an emotional state into practical, teachable behaviour changes is one that anyone can learn. In fact, it’s a must if you, as a manager, hope to create new productive habits among your employees. Here are some guidelines.

1. Translate Emotions into Behaviours
Take a long, hard look at the end-result: an emotion, feeling or attitude you want. (It may be quite vague at first.) Then, decide which observable behaviours can be used as a proxy. In other words, ask yourself: If someone were to implement the chosen behaviours, would it be reasonable to assume that the end-result has been achieved? For example, if someone consistently makes a Seligman-style bedtime list, is it reasonable to conclude they will become more happy?

2. Do Research
Much of our conventional wisdom around creating emotional results is just plain wrong, and our intuition is sometimes misleading. For example, many executives are motivated by corporate profits. They are baffled as to the reason why employees don’t share this ambition. To get past these biases, use studies in psychology and management to separate fact from fiction. Then, convert research results (which usually come from outside the Caribbean) into local language and practice.

3. Coach
The average employee isn’t born with enlightened habits of mind and must be taught. The best method is usually some kind of coaching that involves their immediate supervisor. However, managers often don’t attempt to model the desired behaviour and are reluctant to share their personal struggles. If you find yourself disconnected from your employees, this may be part of the problem.

Ultimately, the best way to start (as a manager) is by helping yourself, even if the pain isn’t acute. Your direct experience is an invaluable asset if, like author Tim Ferris, you try your recommendations on yourself first. This is one powerful way to give yourself choice over what you feel, which is exactly what your employees want also.

Francis Wade is the author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity and a management consultant. To receive a free Summary of each of his past articles, send email to columns@fwconsulting.com

My Sunday column  today describes a problem that both Trinidad and Jamaica are facing. How do they make civil servants more attractive to the private sector?

A startlingly high number of executives in Jamaica show Type A traits, according to my informal observations. This parallels the findings of research in a number of cultures.

Their extremely high concern for time-based results is no accident – it’s a strength that propels them to the highest levels. However, they also have an interest in peace of mind and that can only be preserved if they pay close attention to their time-based productivity skills.

Here’s my latest article from the Jamaica Gleaner.

How to Thrive as a Type A Personality

Most leaders of Jamaica’s companies share a single trait – the Type A personality. It means they face some unique and growing challenges to the realization of their goals.

A Google search offers up many definitions of this trait, some of which are quite extreme. Most leaders, however, aren’t the hypertensive, unfeeling, Machiavellian types who are often used to dramatize the

definition. Instead, they have deep, passionate commitments and love to solve real problems, the bigger the better.

Using time effectively is an imperative: they are often impatient, hard workers who don’t know what it’s like to leave work at 4:30 PM… unless it’s to arrive on time for another obligation. They are a distinct group, but just being a Type A doesn’t mean that you have a free ticket to the executive suite. However, according to research by Dr. Meyer Friedman, a disproportionately high number of executives (75%) are Type A’s. That’s twice as high as the general population.

Their proactive nature means that they often show up in my local productivity training programs with sturdy habits already in place, but with no way to get better. Based on empirical data collected from over 150 participants, here are three facts you may need if are a Type A looking to improve.

Finding #1 – Your skills must evolve in order to reach new goals
Type A’s are perhaps the most ambitious employees. They are always on the hunt for better results, which means they are eager to process more time demands with greater speed. Unfortunately, if you belong to this group, you may be making a common mistake.

These high performers have learned that being more forceful gets them closer to what they want, especially when success relies on driving themselves to higher performance. In other words, they have found that “working harder” works.

In my training, it comes as a surprise to many Type A’s that their daily practices are quite common. Furthermore, the data shows that what has worked for them in the past will no longer work in the future. This is easy to see once they confront the modern fact of information overload caused by a combination of mobility and internet availability. They must find new ways to operate if they hope to cope.

While this might be obvious to others, Type A’s are often too busy to step back and notice when they need to evolve and develop new skills.

Finding #2 – Your evolution requires that you use less memory
As a Type A, you probably have a quick mind which retains lots of facts, developed through years of memory-based schooling. You are quite good at recalling time demands – maybe better than anyone you know.

If you were to retain very few commitments in life, this approach would work just fine. However, Type A’s have a propensity to take on greater responsibilities at home, work, community and in their personal lives. When combined with the challenge of information overload, they constantly feel time-starved.

As a result, they can’t survive in the future by using memory and must transition to the use of paper, digital devices or an administrative assistant.

Those who insist on using memory for this purpose may function for a while and even use their quick thinking to stay out of trouble. But at some point their advancing age betrays them. Some try in vain to improve their memory, but the research is clear: they will one day fail.

Finding #3 – Replacing memory with a list, and ultimately with a schedule
If you commit to replacing your memory with other means of storage, that’s just the beginning. Due to the constraints of the human mind, research shows that there is a progression of skills you must follow if you hope to manage an increase in time demands.

Most people start by trading the use of their memory for a ToDo list. This helps in the beginning unless there is a further increase that causes this technique to falter. Then, you must switch over to using multiple lists, sorted by a set of custom categories.

Ultimately, if the number increases even further even this approach fails. The final transition to make is to the use of a schedule or calendar. While most people only use a calendar to record appointments with other people, competent Type A’s are more likely to use their calendar to manage all their time demands. They focus on scheduling those tasks which are non-habitual and require conscious attention to prevent them from disappearing.

As you may imagine, after you decide to make these transitions, they don’t happen overnight. There are a number of intricate habits, practices and rituals for you to master – unlike the habit of “working harder” they don’t come easily. Thriving as a Type A means continuously teaching yourself new skills with respect to your time demands – a new requirement if you hope to realize your goals in today’s world.

Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. To receive a Summary of Links to past columns, or give feedback, email: columns@fwconsulting.com

Some fascinating new research reveals that part of what determines our propensity to be on time is an unconscious frame called an On Time Window (OTW.).

Here is the article I wrote for the Gleaner on this topic and how it applies to us here in the Caribbean.

Does our on time window make us less productive?

Why does a Jamaican employee struggle with being on time? Is “laziness” the right answer? Or is it due to something else we can actually transform?

In a Gleaner column on May 25, 2013, I made the point that people who live next door are often the last to arrive at work in the morning. I suggested why this is true: as it turns out, I was a bit wrong.

I stand corrected by an article in the Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Apparently, all adult human beings operate with an invisible “On Time Window” (OTW). To explain, let’s imagine that you have an event at 1:00 PM. What’s the earliest and latest you can arrive without causing a fuss? The answer, consisting of two separate times, defines your OTW.

According to Dr. Lawrence White from Beloit College and his team, your OTW is influenced by three factors.

Factor 1 – Social vs. Business Events

Once when I lived in New Jersey, I invited some colleagues from the office to a BBQ, telling them that it started at 2:00 PM. When my doorbell rang at 1:55 PM I was shocked (and unbathed). Clearly, their OTW for a casual party was different than mine, and more like the OTW we shared at work.

White’s research shows, in general, that we have different OTW’s for work and leisure. For example, in American, Estonian and Moroccan cultures, it’s OK to arrive 40 minutes late for lunch with a friend, but only 12 minutes late for a business meeting. Problems occur when people aren’t aware of the difference.

Factor 2 – Cultural Differences

People often remark that Jamaicans who migrate to the US learn to be on-time in a hurry… or else. Based on the study, it’s clear that they are adopting the OTW of a different culture.

Furthermore, they are often learning to be more precise. A book by Robert Levine entitled “A Geography of Time” is sub-titled “How Every Culture Keeps Time Just a Little Bit Differently.” It shows that Americans keep track of time in 5-minute increments. However, Arabs tracks time in 15-minute increments. For example, Americans are more likely to say they are running 5 to 10 minutes late while an Arab might report they are a quarter to half-hour late.

Lawrence wonders out aloud: Is lateness measured by psychological units, rather than by the clock? In other words, is an American who is late by 10 minutes psychologically equivalent to an Arab who is late by half an hour? After all, each is late by exactly two units.

What does that say about Jamaicans? In my mind, a BBQ that is slated to start at 2:00 PM (even if it’s in the USA) indicates that no-one should even think of arriving before 2:30 PM. Does this mean that in our culture we think in 30-minute increments? Is a business meeting in Kingston that starts an hour late the equivalent of starting a New York meeting ten minutes late? Do we automatically give each other half-hour blighs? I don’t have exact answers, but my anecdotal experience tells me that this might be so.

Factor 3 – Status

Disturbingly, a different 1980 study asked professors and students how long they would wait for a student or professor who was late for an appointment. All 248 respondents were clear: they would wait longer for the higher-status professor.

White and his colleagues conducted more detailed experiments showing that a person of higher status was allowed, on average, to be 14 minutes late. Others were permitted to be late by only 10.7 minutes. This finding was true across all three cultures mentioned earlier.

Former President Bill Clinton was famous for running late, but this finding may show why it amounted to little more than an afterthought. His status as leader of the free world allowed him an out-sized measure of automatic forgiveness.

Why is this disturbing? I have worked with a number of CEO’s who fail to realize the impact their lateness has on others. They don’t see that their workers watch them for clues to their success. It’s therefore not hard for a single, habitually late leader to create a legion of followers who aspire to the kind of casual lateness that provokes no complaints.

A casual relationship to lateness has consequences, however. A company which announces an 8:30 AM opening time but takes no issue with employees sauntering in at 8:35, insults the customer. In fact, it’s common for those who arrive just a bit earlier than the advertised opening time to see the place locked up, showing “no sign of life” whatsoever.

In my prior article, I argued that arriving at work on time is a skill that must be taught. Now, these studies show that
an employee’s OTW is a powerful influence. Companies can help employees at every level see that their OTW’s must be re-shaped if the company is to thrive.

Francis Wade is the author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity and a management consultant. To receive a free Summary of each of his past articles, send email to columns@fwconsulting.com

To read the original article online, click here – http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20150426/advisory-column-does-our-own-time-window-make-us-less-productive

I have worked with many companies whose value statements all look alike, and do little to guide people’s actions.

Here’s a column I wrote that describes one way to ensure that the effort to define values isn’t wasted.

Converting Abstract Corporate Values into Profitable Action

You are sitting in your CEO’s office and she wants to know why the list of company values isn’t working. After all, she complains, “We spent two days at last year’s retreat coming up with it. Everyone was involved, so buy-in was never an issue. Why then has nothing changed?”

As a manager or executive, you are caught off-guard. You see the values plastered on walls all around the office. Each person carries a little laminated card in his/her purse or wallet. Why are they not working?

What you may fail to realize is that engaging employees is only a small (but necessary) start. To go further, you need to shed a particular mental model that is limiting your company’s success.

It all starts with a mistaken assumption. In companies, people assume that when it comes to understanding corporate values, everyone is on the same page.

The facts say otherwise. When leaders speak about values they often use them as “valence issues”: non-controversial topics that cannot be argued with, such as “Integrity” and “Respect.” They are a favorite tool of politicians who rely on the technique to get all heads nodding: even those of their opponents.

However, a deeper dive reveals the truth. Executives have a habit of turning values into valence issues, causing them to fall flat.

The best way to convert abstract values into profitable action is to translate them into norms – a step most companies don’t take. For example, one employee may interpret the value “We Put People First” as a suggestion to say “Hello” to each person they pass every morning. Another might see the act of greeting people they don’t know (or like) as one of insincerity and disrespect.

In other words, both employees might believe that they are being true to the value, while acting in opposing ways.

The chances are high that in your company, the values that you promote so stridently are causing opposite effects. They end up creating discord, burning up energy and wasting motion that distracts from the bottom line. What can your executives do to make sure that your investment in the retreat isn’t frittered away?

1. Learn the Video-Tape Test
To solve the problem of poor coordination, focus on defining behaviours that can only be observed with the naked eye, and be recorded on video. That is, they need to be the kind of actions anyone can see. For example, the act of “prioritizing” fails the test. By contrast, “writing up a prioritized list of potential tasks” passes. When this distinction is clear, new behaviours become easy to learn and understand because they can be passed on by the average worker.

2. De-construct Values into Behaviours
With the video-tape test in mind, you can break down any corporate value into its component behaviours. Just set up an executive brainstorming session, explain the distinction, and ask for examples of behaviours. Keep going until you have a list that meets the criteria.

As you take this step, go for extra credit: craft new behaviours that represent an evolution of your company culture. Start with what people do today, and then improve it by several steps. Also, don’t be generic… instead, look for fresh language that shouts: “Here is something you don’t already know.” This helps you avoid valence issues.

3. Convert Each Behaviour into a Performance Matrix
It’s tempting (and a mistake) to believe that someone is either demonstrating a particular behaviour in full, or not at all. A better alternative is to think in terms of a continuum of performance ranging from “novice” to “expert”.

For example, if the chosen behaviour happens to be “Greet colleagues each morning,” a novice, who is new to the company, might struggle to remember to enact the practice. However, an “expert” who has been around for some time would already have converted the behaviour into an automatic habit that never fails.

With such a matrix of behaviours, it’s much easier to evaluate oneself, a boss, direct reports and one’s peers. Now, you have an objective baseline that serves as a starting point. Build on it by creating a personal improvement plan that helps guide you through simple new practices, a few at a time. Ensure that you aren’t trying to change too many things at the same time, and build a support system just in case your willpower flags.

Before long, the entire organization will be moving in the direction of the retreat’s values because there will be an alignment of key behaviours. Your company will be far more likely to see an all-important impact on the bottom-line.

Francis Wade is the author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity and a management consultant. To receive a free Summary of each of his past articles, send email to columns@fwconsulting.com

It’s awful to be compelled to work with someone who won’t accept responsibility. Here’s what can be done about it.

Your Worst Nightmare; An Employee Who Won’t Accept Responsibility

What should you do with a colleague, employee or boss who fails to accept responsibility?

It’s an awful realization: suddenly, someone you work with shows you his true colours when placed under pressure. In a desperate attempt to avoid blame and guilt, he avoids taking responsibility. He claims he “didn’t do it” and fends off attempts to hold him to account in any way. Once he starts running away the conversation turns into a chase. You try to make a difference, while he does his best to distance himself from feeling like a victim.

In moments such as this, there are no winners. If the other person is in a position of power, the loss can be great.

Witness the recent tragedy at NSWMA. As Kingston was covered in palls of dangerous smoke, it was impossible to find anyone willing to stand up and be accountable for what was happening. Many working adults who watched events unfold felt uneasy as it brought to mind some of their most difficult, irresponsible colleagues. It reminded me of a gardener who once gave my wife the following report after splitting the blade of our lawn-mower on a rock: “It bruk.” He didn’t say “I broke it.” Instead, his stance indicated that the mysterious outcome happened all on its own.

Apparently, in the minds of a few people, the fire at Riverton did the same.

When employees at all levels of an organization adopt this mindset they set themselves up as observers rather than actors, victims rather than agents. Their frame of mind places the entire organization at risk of losing profits, customers or in our case, fresh air to breathe. More importantly, they unwittingly render themselves useless in preventing the event from happening again. To them, it’s just a matter of having some better excuses the next time around.

It’s a corrosive, contagious frame of mind that must be addressed because it can leave a whole organization hapless.

What can the ordinary employee do to transform this mindset?

Step 1 – Separate Responsibility From Blame
In a workshop a few years ago, I introduced the term “response-ability.” Inspired by the work of Werner Erhard, I defined the term as free of the usual negative connotations: blame, fault, guilt or shame. Instead, it’s about putting oneself in a mental place to make a difference, especially when failure is possible, or even after it has occurred. Those who are confused with regards to response-ability end up only running away – throwing out the baby with the bathwater. In other words, they don’t want to feel bad so they surrender their power to act.

Step 2 – Show Others the Cost
When people are lost in blame-avoidance, trying to avoid negative feelings, they are momentarily blinded. Otherwise good people are unable to see the cost of abandoning their ability to act. You can help them see the bigger picture by sharing the impact of their blindness on you and others, dollarising it if possible.

Step 3 – Invite them to Take Action, Even if They Feel Bad
People who are accountable appreciate that life is always a blend of successes and failures, but they don’t only accept the former and ignore the latter. They are willing to “take the heat” when things fall apart. “Taking the heat” means saying “Yes, I helped to cause the unwanted result.” This mindset is a must if they wish to empower themselves to fix problems once and for all.

If you can follow these three steps, even when others feel badly, you are helping to move the problem toward resolution.

This can be hard work, but it’s easier to take the above actions if the person is willing. With skillful coaching you can prevent further disasters by diverting their attention to the difference they can make and the high cost of the failure. If you can help them be consistently accountable at some point, it is even better, as they ignore their bruised feelings.

But that’s not all. Here’s an important twist.

The best place to start helping a colleague who is slipping into victim-like, don’t-blame-me mode is to be a real-time role-model for everything I have said so far. In other words, assume personal responsibility for their powerless behaviour. Look to see where you can own the part you played in their failure to be response-able. As you look, learn. Then, act to make a difference.

Jamaica would be a different place if more of us could take this stand on a regular basis. Some do it every day but it remains a characteristic that’s tricky to see clearly. However, once you develop an eye for it, you need never be stymied by a colleague who fails to be responsible.

Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. To receive a Summary of Links to past columns, or give feedback, email: columns@fwconsulting.com

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On a recent trip to South Florida, I noticed how easy it is to do business. What does that mean for our governments in the Caribbean? Should it try to do the same for its citizens? Why? I explore these questions in my recent Gleaner article.

Here’s one way to really empower Jamaica’s economic engines

Does Jamaica’s economic development rely on radically reducing the barriers to doing everyday business? On a recent trip to Florida, I had occasion to ponder this possibility.

The bank. WalMart. Lunch. And, if I needed to, Michael’s (a craft store.) I mulled over my shopping list as I drove toward Sawgrass Mills. “Remember, you only have an hour” I reminded myself, and at once it felt like a disaster waiting to happen. I needed to make these stops before going home the following day, returning my host’s vehicle at the top of the hour in time for appointment.

As I turned out of her complex onto a three lane, empty street, I thought “Where is everybody? Not even someone walking.” I parked in Walmart’s huge lot and scuttled in. Ten minutes later I was finished, items in hand. Helped along by three employees finding stuff was easy, apart from some pesky buttons which they didn’t have. Two of these employees happened to be Jamaican, getting me used to the idea that there are a LOT more of us in South Florida than I remember.

I sped over to the bank, steeling myself for the worst. I had to make a cash deposit and decided: “Let me try the drive-through ATM. I know you’re not supposed to use cash at these things, but I don’t have time to join a line.”

Ten minutes later, after several failed attempts at scanning two of the bills, I walked into the banking hall and glanced around for the line. “Here is where I always run into big trouble” I muttered as I counted ten people waiting.

Just before I could join the line, a woman with yet another Jamaican accent stopped me to ask, “Can I help you?” I explained what had happened and she asked “May I exchange the bills for you?”

Two minutes later she returned with crisp, new bills which I quickly deposited at the walk-up ATM’s inside the building.

As my stress diminished, I drove to Michael’s in search of the elusive buttons. A few minutes later, again without luck I returned to my car for the final stop at Arby’s, a fast-food outlet. Ten minutes later (even after changing my order in mid-stream) I was done, and pulled into my host’s driveway with minutes to spare.

It was a typical hour in South Florida. “But what a way it different from Kingston” I admitted to myself. I imagined some of the typical obstacles, ranging from traffic to poor customer service to broken bank machinery. Typically, these unexpected problems add minutes, hours and even days. Many business-owners, like myself, desperately try to avoid going out on the road on errands. We delegate the task to bearers, colleagues and family members as Jamaica’s inefficiency represents a huge time cost.

It’s too bad that our government leaders on both sides of the aisle don’t take a cue from our neighbours. When I hear them talk about “empowering the private sector” I get the distinct impression that they are describing a mysterious black box they don’t understand. It sounds like magic: do a bit of financial tinkering with this and that, and the engine of Jamaica’s growth will suddenly roar to life, like a rabbit being pulled out of a hat.

Their lack of understanding is a bit frightening. It’s clear to everyone (and the IMF) that government spending will play little or no role in reviving our economy. In fact, it’s arguable that fifty years of one percent GDP growth has occurred because government has crowded out private investments.

We could start by focusing government on removing the massive (and ever-increasing) friction that exists to doing business in Jamaica. If it does so, it would allow companies to do what they do best: legally pursue their interest in making profits, hiring more/better people and growing as a result.

By throwing up more barriers, amplifying the acts of wrongdoers and paying scant attention to the needs of legitimate business, government abandons its mandate to remove friction. It makes people like me wonder. “If I moved my business back to South Florida (from whence it came) and hired some of the Jamaicans living there, could the company be more effective? And more profitable? Would I get more done?”

Patriotism aside, each business-person must ask these questions periodically; and answer them honestly. In response, government needs to set aside persistent calls for the national interest, and focus on its job of removing friction. That is, it needs to commit itself to creating an environment in which it’s as easy to make a profit in Kingston as it is anyplace else.

When government does this job well, every Jamaican citizen wins, but it’s our shared duty to make it happen.

Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. To receive a Summary of Links to past columns, or give feedback, email: columns@fwconsulting.com

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Executives unwittingly build up significant barriers to feedback. To prevent this tendency from affecting the bottom-line, execs need to be proactive.

In this article, I examine the specific actions they can take.

Why Executives Need to Make It Easy to Get Feedback

High-level executives live in a rarefied world of extreme competition and ambition, but the longer they stay at the top, the harder it becomes to get the kind of advice that overturns their thinking. Here’s what they can do early in their careers to open the doors to quality feedback that keeps them and their companies growing.

Corporate leaders tend to be big fish in small ponds. When they were young professionals, they had many people around them telling them what to do and how to do it better. That number shrunk rapidly as they progressed up the corporate ladder, creating a natural shortage of direct growth opportunities. By the time they reached the executive suite, with its outsize power and influence, others have shifted their behaviour.

The fact that executives tend to be somewhat smarter, better read and harder working than their peers further sets them apart. This difference often goes unrecognized, leading them to think they are being told everything they need to hear. They routinely underestimate how much feedback their colleagues are withholding, especially around their performance. They fool themselves into thinking they know what’s going on.

These are formidable obstacles. What can managers do (before they join the executive team) to force open the gates of communication? Doing these three tactics can help them at every step of the corporate ladder.

Tactic 1 – Don’t just invite feedback, ask for suggestions. Most people who work around executives aren’t skilled at giving feedback to anyone, let alone to powerful movers and shakers. They often couch their words, using indirect language, hinting at the problem they see. For example, instead of being blunt and pointing out a flaw in the leader’s performance, they might make a vague suggestion for a new business idea.

Executives need to encourage other people to speak up, even if they must do so in their own terms, at their own pace. It’s not hard to understand why someone with a difficult message to deliver will look for the safest method possible. Sometimes, this renders the communication obtuse, but the fact that the effort is being made indicates courage on the part of the messenger. Both their overt and hidden messages deserve to be amplified, but a leader needs to have good listening skills to hear them.

Tactic 2 – Use formal mechanisms. A Jamaican firm has adopted a novel approach – each professional carries with him/her a pre-printed card on which every feedback conversation is noted. Targets are set for each person, who needs to have a minimum number of conversations per month. Another method some companies use is a 360 degree evaluation, in which a manager’s performance is assessed from multiple angles. These structured methods help ensure that feedback is delivered, increasing the odds that an effort is made.

Tactic 3 – Seek early evidence. It’s easy for a persuasive leader to live in denial. All he/she must do is argue with early contrary evidence. A few years ago, I worked on a project in which I discovered that an executive team was at odds with its Managing Director. There was no open disagreement – things hadn’t gotten that bad. But there happened to be a vast difference in opinion that wouldn’t go away. No matter how hard she tried to persuade her direct reports that the problem wasn’t as bad as they thought, they wouldn’t budge.

Instead, she switched gears and argued that the issue didn’t exist because customers hadn’t complained about it yet. She was right – they hadn’t. It was the kind of problem that customers wouldn’t notice for a very long time. However, she missed the opportunity to deal with it during its early days, because it required a fix that would take several years to effect. On this point, her more experienced colleagues had an advantage she couldn’t fully appreciate.

Many employees make the mistake of believing that a top executives job is to keep things comfortably consistent. In the short term, many do try to stay in their comfort zone by making it hard for bad news to reach them. While this sort of ignorance may help them sleep better at night, in the long term everyone suffers. It’s difficult to run a company effectively on the basis of partial information, without critical feedback.

In fact, it endangers the results shareholders want, a fact that executives often don’t see clearly. More to the point, they also don’t see their own part in preventing head-turning advice from reaching them.

Achieving growth in these recessionary times requires ingenuity and sacrifice and companies must be provoked to reach new levels of performance. It takes a conscious and consistent effort to destroy barriers to the delivery of uncomfortable communication. But doing so is one way to prompt leaders and companies to grow.

Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. To receive a Summary of Links to past columns, or give feedback, email: columns@fwconsulting.com

Recent research has shown that Jamaica has more female managers than any other country. Also, unrelated research shows that women are better time managers.

Put the two together, and what do you get? Read this article recently published in the Jamaica Gleaner and you can find out… (the full text can be read here.)

How Women Might Solve Corporations’ Productivity Problems

A few weeks ago, Jamaicans woke up to a surprise announcement: we have the highest percentage of female managers in the world. While this certainly has social ramifications, it also means that we can leverage the power that women possess to solve our productivity problems.

However, the connection isn’t as simple as it seems. People often say that women are better are multitasking than men. Unfortunately, this is an oft repeated, but incorrect myth.

The confusion lies in the very definition of the word. Sometimes we use the term “multitasking” to refer to the juggling act that ambitious professionals must do to balance multiple roles, projects and responsibilities. Brigid Shulte, author of “Overwhelmed,” shared with me in a recent interview that women often assume the responsibilities of managing the home, in addition to their jobs. This isn’t real multitasking, it’s multi-project management.

Cognitive multitasking, which involves repeatedly switching one’s attention from one task to another, is where the modern challenge lies. Fuelled by new technology, we believe that by checking email in meetings, sending messages in the middle of conversations and texting while driving, are signs of being truly productive. Even worse: research shows that those who think they are better at doing two demanding tasks at the same time are fooling themselves: they are actually worse.

Fact: our brains are hard-wired for single-tasking, in which the best results come from being focused. Studies have shown that when we are forced to multitask in response to stimuli like a constant influx of email, our IQ drops by ten points. Furthermore, academic success has been linked to an individual’s ability to reduce distractions, doing the hard work needed to complete complex tasks.

Many of us are confused about the difference between the two kinds of multitasking, a fact I notice in my work with companies. As a result, employees don’t know how to be productive. In the absence of proper training, they mimic others in an attempt to get more done. Given the fact that there are more female managers, they are more likely to be copying a woman than a man.

The good news is that there are also studies showing that women are better time managers. While time itself cannot be managed, the research reveals that women are more at effective creating “time demands” and keeping them alive over long periods of time. (A time demand is an internal, individual commitment to complete an action in the future.)

Where does this ability come from? Studies show that women (and men) teach themselves critical skills as adolescents and faithfully continue them as adults. This ability sets them apart from their peers who might be just as intelligent, but don’t learn how to be productive. (If you can’t recall doing so, that’s normal.)

Although it’s not clear why teenage girls are able to pull this off, a good question to ask is: how can we in Jamaica use our situation to benefit our companies? If you are a woman, here are some ways to start.

1. Understand what multitasking really means. Distinguish between managing multiple roles or projects and cognitive multitasking. Teach others around you the pitfalls of those who develop the habit of switching their attention from one task to another. Explain the cost of “switch-tasking”: the small increment of time that’s lost when they swap one task for another. Be prepared to explain the difference over and over again until it becomes a widely understood fact.

2. Stop claiming that women are better at multitasking. It’s a confusing message that implies that this habit is somehow better. Instead, use facts and data: explain that women are better at managing time demands, and tend to teach themselves better habits that serve them later in life. Encourage others to do the same, even as you personally cut out behaviors such as pretending to listen while doing other tasks.

3. Give more time-based feedback. In her recent book, The NonVerbal Advantage, Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman showed that women have a capacity to give better feedback than men. They are better at picking up nonverbal cues, listening and showing empathy. Use these skills to step in and intervene. Coach others in ways to be productive by helping them see how they compare to world-class standards. Remember, many of your colleagues want to improve, but simply don’t know how. At the same time, cut out the blighs given away so freely: they only reinforce low standards.

On the face of it, Jamaica should be poised to improve its productivity because we have more female managers who tend to be armed with better time demand management skills. It may happen, but it will take the awareness, commitment and skills of one empowered woman at a time.

Francis Wade is a management consultant and author of Perfect Time-Based Productivity. To receive a Summary of Links to past columns, or give feedback, email: columns@fwconsulting.com

To read the article on the Jamaica Gleaner site, click here.